UK staff are putting their companies at risk of phishing attacks because they are too willing to accept friend requests from random people on LinkedIn.

A survey of 2,000 workers by Intel Security found that around 24 per cent admitted to accepting requests from people they don’t know, opening company information to hackers.

Crooks can target phishing campaigns more effectively by using the information that connections on LinkedIn offer, as it gives a good insight into the networks and connections between high-ranking executives.

“Social networking sites are a treasure trove of data used by malicious actors to research potential targets for attack, not only requesting to connect with senior executives but as many junior or mid-level employees at a company as possible,” he said.

“They then target senior-level execs, using their existing connections with colleagues as proof of credibility by leveraging the principle of social validation. Once these connections are in place they can launch a targeted phishing campaign.